A little less than two weeks ago, the Louvre Museum managed to finance the acquisition of The Book of Hours of Francis I through crowdfunding. The book is the only known binding so far from the reign of Francis I in the 16th century, priced at £9 million. The campaign raised 8,500 donors who contributed €1.4 million, €400,00 more than expected.
This is the eighth time that the Parisian museum has decided to opt for crowdfunding to buy works of art. This form of crowdfunding, which began in the Renaissance with a group of people who decided to support the development of art and culture in an altruistic way, is back to stay.
How does crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding is a financing system that has grown exponentially in recent years in Spain. According to the annual report conducted by the Complutense University and UniversoCrowdfunding, crowdfunding raised 113 million euros in Spain 2016, 116% more than in 2015. These figures show that it is gradually consolidating as an alternative or complementary way to conventional investment and financing.
Depending on the contribution made and the consequent reward, there are different forms of crowdfunding. The most common are: loan crowdfunding, in which a project is financed in exchange for an interest rate (crowdlending); investment crowdfunding, in which patrons become investors with certain benefits, stocks or shares depending on the contribution; reward crowdfunding, in which those who decide to contribute to the project receive something tangible; and, finally, donation crowdfunding, when the patron contributes without receiving anything in return.
Lateuaterra and green crowdfunding
Today, different platforms have emerged, specialized by themes, such as art, music, education, solidarity or, now, environment. Among all of them, lateuaterra.com is a vivid example of traditional crowdfunding platforms for donations and rewards, but with an added bonus: it is dedicated exclusively to green projects.
In lateuaterra, the promoters of the different projects send their ideas with a description and a budget to carry it out. A technical committee assesses whether the project is truly beneficial to the environment, complies with regulations and does not produce a carbon footprint. The promoter has 39 days to publicize its proposal and reach the funding target set to develop it. During this time, anyone can contribute an amount to the project, for which they receive a small reward. The sum of the individual contributions makes it possible for the initiatives to go ahead.
